One Hell of a Day
by YouHaveLovelyHair
Summary: Set after 5x4. Abby forces an admission from Becker. Rated T just in case. Enjoy!
1. Admission

**A/N I've had this story going round in my head ever since Abby smirked over the "security stuff" comment. It just had to get written - apologies to those waiting for an update to Consequences. I can't finish that one until I've got this one out! :-)  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval, but wish I owned Becker's wiggly eyebrows!**

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><p>It had been one hell of a day. Future beetles, lockdown, Jess in anaphylactic shock, gamma rays, incineration - what more could this job throw at them? Oh yes, Becker had "security stuff" to do.<p>

Abby harrumphed at his particularly lame excuse. What was wrong with that man? There was the strong and silent type, there was the British stiff-upper-lip, and then there was Becker…he gave Jess hope with his chocolate-buying, eyebrow wiggling attentiveness and then dashed her back down again when he thought he had let her get too close. Right, it was time to do something about that - and today was the right day to do it! He'd been through the ring emotionally and was probably as vulnerable as he was ever going to get. That settled it for Abby. She was going to force Becker to admit that he had feelings - it was going to be good for him. She smiled wickedly and headed down to the armoury.  
>She found him there, as expected, cleaning his guns. Not the EMDs, real firearms. He'd told her once that the EMDs didn't smell right and actually, as she entered the armoury and smelled sharpness of the gunpowder and metal, she found herself agreeing with him.<p>

"Hey Becker," she said chirpily, sitting down on the bench next to him. "How's the security stuff going?"  
>Becker looked up and frowned at her. Her face remained impassive and he couldn't work out if she making fun of him or not. He decided not to find out.<br>"Fine, thank you. Can I help you with something?" He asked, turning his attention back to his gun.  
>"Yes. I was wondering if you could tell me when you're going to stop being such an arse?" Abby faced him square on and raised her eyebrows challengingly.<br>"What the hell -?" Becker stopped what he was doing and gave her his full attention. "What are you talking about Abby?"  
>"Security stuff? Really, Becker? You couldn't come up with anything better than that before legging it?" she knew she was winding him up by the tightening of his hands around the shotgun, but that was what she was aiming for after all.<p>

"Leave it Abby," he warned, in a low threatening voice.  
>"No, I won't leave it Becker!" exclaimed Abby. "How can you keep leaving her hanging like that? You've got to decide either way - stop giving her mixed signals!"<br>He stared at her, one eyebrow arched high. "Mixed signals?" he asked.  
>Abby sighed. God, the man didn't even know he was encouraging Jess's feelings and then stamping on them.<br>"Becker," she said more gently this time. "You buy Jess chocolate. No-one else does, and you don't do it for anyone else. You abandoned your post when she screamed, then carried her round the ARC while the rest of us fought the beetles - and then you ran away as if you didn't care at all. I - and every other woman in the entire world - would call that mixed signals."  
>"Fine," Becker stated flatly. "Then I'll stop." He already knew he wouldn't be able to, but he didn't want Abby to pick up on that.<br>"Becker, you like her, what's wrong with that?" pressed Abby.  
>"I do not!" protested Becker. "Really Abby, this is all in your head."<br>"Is it?" she challenged him again.  
>"Yes." he said firmly, meeting her gaze with his own challenge. My guard is impenetrable, there's no way you're getting through here. Trouble was, Abby always met a challenge head on.<p>

"Just admit it Becker!"  
>"No, because there's nothing to admit!" he stood up now and paced across to the other side of the armoury.<br>"Just admit you're in love with Jess!" demanded Abby, her voice rising.  
>"No, Abby," Becker tried to keep his voice calm at Abby's use of the L word, but she was beginning to get under his skin. He'd already had a day, he didn't need this right now!<br>"Becker, you are so in love with her. You know it, I know it, Connor knows it, Matt knows it - hell, even Lester knows it!" Abby stood up too. "The only person who doesn't know is Jess!"  
>"And I intend to keep it that way," Becker told her gruffly.<br>Abby's eyes sparkled. "Is that an admission?" she asked with a grin.  
>"No! Of course not!" he shouted.<br>"Come on Becker - you love Jess. Just say it - I'm in love with Jess! You'll feel better!" Abby needled.  
>"Abby, you're wasting your time - I'm not saying anything just because you tell me to," Becker felt he was getting the upper hand again.<br>"You know I'm not going to leave this alone, don't you?" Abby said forcefully. "I'm going to keep digging day after day after day until you say it." She paused to let her words sink in. She watched his face change as he considered having to listen to her nagging him for days, weeks even. She knew she would break him.  
>"Surely its better to just get it over with?"<br>"Abby, do you just take great pleasure in torturing me?" he asked softly.  
>"Hmmm, let me think about that," teased Abby. "Yes! Nothing pleases me more than torturing you, Becker and I can keep it going, don't think that I can't. Just admit it, say it, just to me. It won't go any further, I promise you."<p>

He was silent as he stared at the small blonde woman. He knew she was ferocious, tenacious and many other "cious" words that he didn't want to consider right now. He often thought she was more like the creatures she cared for; always acting on instinct without thinking about the consequences of what she was doing. Just doing what she believed to be the right thing. Sometimes, he had wished he could be more like her, more spontaneous, more foolhardy. Trouble is to be that, you had to lose control.

"Come on Becker," Abby needled him again as he remained silent. "Come on. You can do it. Just say it. What harm can it do? Just say it. I love Jess. Its not difficult, dead easy in fact. Come on Becker - are you a man or just a total emotional retard -?" Her taunting was cut off as he rounded on her, his face intense and dangerously dark.  
>She took a step back from his look and reached her hand up to her ear.<p>

"Alright Abby, you win," he bellowed. "I'm in love with Jessica!"


	2. Humiliation

**A/N Hope you liked Becker getting a bit cross. I got my inspiration for his anger from 3x8, when he's shouting at Abby after being attacked by the future predators - hot, hot, hot! :-)**

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><p>"<em><strong>Alright Abby, you win," he bellowed. "I'm in love with Jessica!"<strong>_

Abby grinned hugely, incredibly pleased with herself. Then Becker drew in a ragged breath as his frustration and fear and anger made him cruel.  
>"But so what?" he demanded. "It doesn't mean anything. She's just a child and its never going to happen. So wipe that smile off your face and leave it alone Abby!"<br>He slammed the lid down on one of the gun cases in his reach and stormed out of the armoury.

Oh crap. Abby reached her hand up to hear ear again. Oh really crap.

Becker had no idea where he was going. Unfortunately, his feet followed his heart and took him to the Ops Room where he knew she would be, despite her recent medical condition. He entered the Hub almost on the run, with Abby at his heels calling his name. He ignored her, he really didn't want to deal with her right now. He had the feeling he might just deck her and, whilst he was sure it would make him feel better, it probably wouldn't be the best career move he'd ever made.

His momentum slowed as he drew near his desk, and therefore nearer to the ADD. Slowed enough for him to take in his surroundings and realise that something was up. The Hub was not, well, hubbing. Techs and administrators were not working, they were - well - staring at him and whispering. He looked behind him just to make sure, but behind him was only Abby with a very sheepish look on her face. It was horribly quiet. He turned back to glance at the ADD and there she was. Jess Parker. His heart skipped a beat as it always did when he saw her, but he placed the blame for it on the exertion of marching from the armoury to Ops. He sort of realised he was denying the truth, but it was easier that way. What he hadn't expected was the look on her face; somewhere between horror and humiliation; elation and despair. Her eyes were wide and bright and shimmering, as if they were liquid.

Realisation and mortification dawned in the same moment. He turned 180 degrees and levelled a stare at Abby. "Your Comms were open, weren't they?" he accused, his voice rang out harsh and loud in the quiet room.  
>Abby nodded and winced. "I'm sorry," she mouthed, unable to get her voice to work.<br>Becker turned back again to Jess, ignoring everyone else in the room. As she met his gaze, hard and angry, her lip began to tremble. Becker couldn't bear to look at her again. He felt his veneer beginning to crack under the spell of those liquid eyes. He knew if he stayed here, with her, she would have him on his knees, begging for her forgiveness in little more than a heartbeat. He grabbed hold of his anger and clung, needing the strength it gave him. He marched over to Abby, loomed over her and pushed his face within an inch of hers. His voice was low and menacing.  
>"Stay away from me, Abigail…" he spat and, leaving his meaning hanging, he flung away from her and marched out of the room without a second glance back at those he knew were now boring holes in his back with their eyes.<p>

Abby was left to face Jess, with the knowledge that not only had everyone heard Becker's admission, which is what she had intended, but that they had also heard his qualification of that admission - that she was a child and it would never happen. She stared into Jess's eyes, seeing the humiliation, the tears threatening to flood her cheeks and all she could do was keep repeating "I'm sorry, Jess, I'm so so sorry…"  
>Jess steeled herself. She sniffed, tossed her head and managed a small smile.<br>"I know you meant well, Abby, but did you really have to do that to him?" she asked in a small voice.  
>Abby hung her head in shame.<br>"I think - I think I'll just go home now, actually," Jess announced to the room, feeling all their eyes on her. She trotted back to the ADD, picked up her bag and turned back on her heels to face the room. Lifting her chin in the air, with as much bravado as she could muster, she strode across the Ops Room towards the lift, all the way thinking "I will not cry, I will not cry, I will not cry…"

Jess exited just as Matt and Connor stumbled into the room from the direction of the hydroponics lab.  
>"Did we just hear that right?" demanded Connor, as soon as he saw Abby.<br>Looking around the room, Matt surmised what had happened. "Where's Jess? How's Jess?" he asked in his usual quiet manner.  
>"Gone home and not good," answered Abby, now feeling rather ashamed of herself.<br>"Abby? What have you done?" asked Connor, bewildered. She touched his face, somewhat sadly.  
>"Something bad," she admitted. "Something very bad..."<p>

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><p><strong>AN Hope you are liking this. Poor Becker (I do like giving him a bit of a kicking!). Still, it all works out, I promise! As always, reviews will be very welcome please!**


	3. Absolution 1

**A/N The firing range I pictured is similar to the one used by Danny when he was still a policeman in Series 3.**

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><p>Becker marched down the corridors of the ARC, his mind in turmoil. Damn Abby and damn her stupid games. He couldn't believe he'd been thick enough to fall into her trap. He should have seen where she was going with it - but he hadn't and now it was too late. The whole ARC was laughing at him. The tough, bounce-off exterior he presented to everyone was now nothing but crumbling rubble. The respect he thought he commanded with his men, with his colleagues, was now lost amongst their laughter. How could she? What on earth had she been thinking? But he already knew the answer to that one. Abby didn't think - she just decided what things would be best for everyone and did everything in her power to bring them to be. She hadn't considered anything, just leapt in there like the fool she was.<p>

She was right about one thing though, his brain suddenly defended Abby. You are an arse! He shook his head to remove the thought. Unfortunately, it was replaced with an image of Jess, her eyes wide and filling with tears. She had heard everything - including the part in which he'd said she was a child. He'd been unforgivably cruel and she had heard everything. He sighed and stopped walking just for a moment. He really was an arse!

He took the sudden arrest in his motion to look around him for the first time since he left the Hub. The door to his left made him grin. Pulling it open, he traversed the concrete steps down into the small firing range in the bowels of the ARC. He needed to shoot something, shoot a lot of somethings, and down here he could use real weapons, real bullets, real guns. He felt excitement and anticipation and adrenaline bubble up inside him as he jogged down the steps, ready to exorcize his torment.

Lt. Michaels was on duty in the firing range as Becker entered the room. It wasn't a large range by any means, just three lanes, but it was well lit, fully sound-proofed and hardly anyone but him used it. He could be relatively alone with only Michaels for company.

The smirk on Michaels face told Becker that he, like the rest of the ARC, knew of his outburst. Becker had him standing to attention with one look, the smirk disappeared without a trace. Becker scanned his wristband, as was required by his own security measures, and demanded Michaels bring him his Glock semi-automatic pistol. Once retrieved, Becker caressed the weapon in his hands, feeling the cold metal against his fingers, the weight heavy against his palm. He missed that with the EMDs. They didn't have the weight of a real gun; it was like trying to shoot with a plastic water pistol.

He moved to the lane furthest away, took a paper target with the outline of a person depicted on it and fiddled with it for a moment before hooking it up and pressing the button to send it all the way to the back of the lane. He flipped on his protective eye glasses, took out his Comms and replaced it with bulky ear defenders. Then he determinedly planted his feet, raised the gun to shoulder level and gently squeezed the trigger. The noise sounded good, the recoil of the small gun against his hands felt good and the fact that he knew he had hit his target square in the centre of the forehead made him smile with pleasure. He squeezed again and emptied the magazine into the target, the sensations taking over his mind ensuring he didn't have to think about anything. God, he loved his guns.

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><p><strong>AN Sorry its only short, but he will get a surprise in a bit! :-) Reviews please!**


	4. Absolution 2

**A/N I will update Consequences soon - I have one more chapter to go on this one though! :-) Please let me know what you think!**

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><p>Jessica Parker had never felt so humiliated. Damn Becker and his stupid age-gap problem. And his stupid "don't get too close" attitude. He'd called her a child. How dare he? He behaved way more like a child than she did on many occasions; being stubborn and arrogant and childish is what had got him shot by Matt with an EMD in the first few months that she'd known him. And he had the audacity to call her a child? She may be young but she'd saved his life many times over the last two years, granted mostly by calling for back-up, but she had diffused a bomb as well! How many children did he know that could do that! Her indignation, she suddenly realised, was beginning to sound rather childish. That thought caused her to stop and smile at herself.<p>

She didn't really want to go home, she discovered. She felt angry, which was unusual for her. And she didn't really know what to do with this unfamiliar emotion. She needed to vent, she decided. But how? And where? Who did she know that was often angry and what did they do? She chuckled to herself as she supplied the answer. Of course! But dare she? And what if he was there? No, he wouldn't be. He would have gone to the big outside range where he could shoot an anti-aircraft gun or something. Or maybe he hid a tank there. Either way, she was sure that was where he had gone. She only knew about the small underground range because she was nosing through the military files one night when everyone had gone. Decision made, she made a u-turn in the corridor and headed through the unmarked door down to the shooting range.

Her heels clicked on the concrete steps, alerting Lt. Michaels to her approach. He leaned over the security station counter as she came into view, a look of surprise and apprehension on his face. He glanced quickly towards the occupied range but was satisfied the Captain had neither seen nor heard her.  
>"Miss Parker," he greeted Jess. "What a surprise! What are you doing here?"<br>"Hi Michaels," Jess answered, her extensive knowledge of the personnel files meant she knew each military officer by sight. "I want to shoot some guns."  
>He frowned at her. "Ok-ay. But we don't have any EMDs down here."<br>"I know, I want to shoot a real gun please. I have some, um, stuff to vent," she told him as matter-of-factly as she could.  
>Michaels grinned and nodded, knowing, of course, exactly what she was referring to. Jess felt a little uncomfortable by the Lieutenant's implied reference to her humiliation but she let it pass. Anything if he was going to let her shoot a gun.<br>"Hang on a minute," Michaels turned and strolled into the weapons locker behind him and re-appeared with an armful of equipment. He advanced round the counter to stand next to Jess and handed her the first item - a bullet-proof vest. He helped her don it, then gave her eye glasses and ear defenders. She looked at him questioningly.  
>"Do you think I'll be safe in this?" she teased.<br>"Well," he returned. "I can think of a certain Captain, who is, incidentally, also my boss, who will be less than pleased with me if I let you hurt yourself."  
>Jess scowled at his reference to Becker. "I'm sure he'll be far more angry with me than with you."<br>Michaels didn't comment as he handed Jess a small handgun, followed by a box of plastic bullets. She stared at him and he shrugged. There was no way he was giving Jess live rounds. Not with Becker in the next booth and certainly not if he valued his own life.

Michaels showed Jess to the middle lane. Jess could hear the gun next to her firing, and see the damage it was causing to the target ahead, but she didn't investigate further. She wanted to concentrate on getting her own firing right. Michaels gave her a paper target and was about to hang it up for her when she stopped him with her hand on his arm.  
>"Michaels, do you have a marker pen please?"<br>"Uh, sure, of course," Michaels was a little taken aback by the unusual request but he jogged back to the security station, rummaged around in a drawer and then brought back a black marker pen.  
>"Thanks," Jess smiled at him and proceeded to deface the target.<br>First, she drew short, neat hair on the head of the outline. Then eyebrows, one burrowed down into a deep frown, the other arched high in contrast. She pursed her lips and, just for good measure, wrote in big capital letters C.H.B at the top of the paper target. Lt. Michaels sniggered appreciatively behind her and then helped her hook it up and send it to the end of the lane.  
>"Right," he said. "Lets get you shooting!"<br>Michaels altered her stance by guiding her hips with his hands. He moved her arms into the correct position and then told her to fire. Jess pulled the trigger and watched the target move at least 3 times. The sensation left her feeling surprisingly satisfied with herself and she began to get an inkling of why Becker liked this so very much.

The Lieutenant became aware that the person in the next lane had stopped firing. He turned around and came face to face with Captain Becker who stood, feet planted, hands behind his back, watching the newcomer. Michaels backed away nervously, revealing his charge.

"Jessica!" Becker bellowed, his voice loud enough for Jess to hear even through her ear defenders.

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><p><strong>AN You've got to love those eyebrows! :-)**


	5. Resolution

**A/N Okay, here comes the fluffy stuff….**

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><p>Jess jumped out of her skin at the sound of his voice. She whipped round to face him and pulled off her ear defenders.<br>"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded, flashing a glare at Lt. Michaels which held the promise of imminent violence. Michaels backed away with a sheepish look on his face.  
>Jess squared up to the large, angry man in front of her.<br>"I came here to shoot something," she told him archly. "Same as you!"  
>"You only need to know how to handle an EMD, same as the rest of the non-field personnel" he told her, sharply. "You have no reason to be firing lethal weapons." His eyes narrowed. "How did you know about this place anyway?"<br>Jess stared at him without speaking.  
>"Of course, the files…" he sighed exasperated with her. He moved towards her and she automatically slid out of his way. "Well, lets see how well you performed, shall we?" and he arched an eyebrow at her.<br>Lt. Michaels sniggered quietly and Jess became flustered as Becker pressed the button to retrieve the target.  
>"No!" she cried. "That's really not necessary! I'm not any good - I don't think I even hit it at all! Really, Becker, there's no need for you to -" she trailed off as the target arrived in Becker's hand.<p>

He pulled it down and stared at it, his face impassive. Most of her shots had missed, he noticed, but she had hit three really good ones - one to the forehead and two to the face. He was quite impressed. Jess leaned around him and tried to snatch the target from his grasp. He pulled it away and looked at her oddly, wondering why she should be worried about him viewing her efforts. He looked back at the target and took in the human outline as a whole. Hang on, she'd drawn on this. His mouth twitched as he took in the hair and the eyebrows and the C.H.B. at the top. He turned his attention back to Jess, who was now looking very flushed and was unable to meet his eyes.  
>"This really was very childish of you Jessica," he admonished.<br>"I'm sorry, I was really annoyed with you and I thought it would make me feel better and it did and I'm not going to apologise for that because you were mean and I wanted to shoot you and -" she babbled.  
>Becker wasn't listening. He leaned over to the range he'd been using and pressed the button to retrieve his target. He brought it to Jess and bent down to her, spreading the target out in front of her.<br>"But not as childish as mine," he murmured into her ear.  
>Jess giggled. Becker had defaced his target too - it had long hair, with pointy ends at the chin. He'd even gone so far as to draw a representation of Rex in the top right hand corner of the paper and the poor lizard now had a bullet hole in him.<br>"I'm not sure it was necessary to shoot poor Rex," Jess told him, looking up at him and realising just how close he was.  
>Becker winked at her conspiratorially. "Shhh, don't tell Abby." He moved around her and replaced the paper target with a fresh one. He threw a comment over his shoulder.<br>"By the way, Jess, next time you choose to draw me - try to get the eyebrows right!"  
>He could feel her blushing behind his back and chuckled softly. He straightened his face so he looked impassive, even though he was more excited than he had ever been, and turned to face her again.<br>"So, you want to learn how to shoot guns?" he asked, flatly.  
>She raised her chin. "Yes, what's wrong with that?"<br>"Nothing. Provided you have the right teacher." He moved to stand behind her. He picked up her gun and replaced the bullets, casting Lt. Michaels a quizzical look as he noted the bullets were plastic. Michaels shrugged and returned to his station as the security station.  
>"Right, lets get you started," Becker turned his attention back to Jess. He began to position her in the correct stance, a little too roughly because she stumbled. Becker glanced down at her feet.<br>"Maybe you should remove your shoes," he said, with a small smile. "Not quite the correct footwear to learn to shoot firearms."  
>Jess turned round to face him, placing her hands on her waist and tapping her foot.<br>"Captain Becker, if I am ever in a position where I need to shoot a conventional firearm, do you really think that I will have time to remove my shoes first?" she demanded.  
>Becker chuckled at her petulance. "Probably not," he agreed. "Ok Miss Parker, the ridiculously high heels may stay and play."<br>She lifted her head slightly in triumph and turned back to face the target.

Becker smiled behind her. He was enjoying this so much. He realised that he was comfortable here in the firing range and with her. He had allowed his stern exterior to drop and discovered he enjoyed playing a little. Perhaps being childish wasn't so bad after all.  
>She looked over her shoulder at him. "Well, Becker? I'm ready."<br>Becker raised an eyebrow, oh really? Ready was she? We'll see…  
>"Ok," he said impassively, belying the butterflies in his gut. "Lets have a look at your stance, shall we?"<br>Jess stood in the way she thought Lt. Michaels had shown her. Not bad, Becker thought as he appraised her legs, noting her incredibly short, purple skirt. He placed his hands on her waist and slid them gently down to her hips before re-positioning her to the correct stance.  
>Jess gasped softly, hoping to God Becker hadn't heard her. When Lt. Michaels had shown her how to stand, his hands on her hips had been nothing more than professional and had incited no more feeling than if he had merely touched her arm. Becker had slid his large hands down from her waist to her hips in a very unprofessional manner and her body had quivered to his touch, making her gasp.<br>Becker grinned, pleased with the way his actions had affected her. But he wasn't finished yet.  
>"Raise the gun to shoulder height, holding it with both hands," he murmured. Jess did as instructed, trying desperately to keep her mind on the firearm and not on the man behind her.<br>Becker placed his hands on top of hers, under the guise of steadying the gun. He was now stood so close behind her that their bullet proof vests were touching and she was encircled in his arms.  
>"Ok," he whispered, her proximity now beginning to affect him too. "Just press the trigger gently."<br>He felt Jess tense just before she pulled the trigger and gently blew onto the nape of her neck.  
>Jess felt warm air brush across the back of her neck and her arms wobbled in surprise, sending her shot wildly off target. She lowered the gun, her arms shaking and her breathing shallow.<br>"Well, Miss Parker, I think you need a lot more practice," Becker murmured close to her hair, his hands moving from the gun to the top of her shoulders.  
>She stiffened, wondering if she had imagined it. Had he really just blown across the back of her neck? No, he wouldn't. It was just her mind playing tricks on her, because he was stood so close. She risked a glance back at him over her shoulder, but blushed and looked away quickly as his face was only centimetres from hers.<br>He smiled behind her and then put on his best stern instructor's voice.  
>"Let's try that again shall we?"<br>Jess took a deep breath and raised the firearm again, as he had shown her.

Becker stroked his hands from her shoulders, down the length of her arms to once again enclose her hands and the gun. Jess felt fire trail down her arms and she found herself holding her breath. What the hell was he playing at?  
>"Ok," he whispered directly into her ear, his warm breath tickling her lobe. "Now this time just squeeze the trigger, don't pull."<br>Jess was so tense by this point that she wasn't sure she could get her hands to work, let alone squeeze the trigger, not pull. And there was something in the way he had said the word "squeeze" which had made her entire body tighten.  
>Becker again anticipated when Jess was ready to fire. As her finger moved almost imperceptibly, he ever so gently brushed his lips against her neck, just above where it met her collarbone. Jess squealed and her arms jerked violently, sending the bullet ricocheting off the concrete ceiling of the range. She dropped the gun and spun round to stare at him, sure now he was up to something.<br>"Are you quite all right, Miss Parker?" he queried softly, his hazel eyes intense and dark, his voice thick with emotion.  
>"I - um - I thought - um - I thought -" she stumbled over her words, her head in a spin.<br>Becker moved his hands to remove first his eye glasses and then hers, finally letting them drop to the small of her back and saw the immediate response in the widening of her eyes.  
>"Jess, I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I didn't mean what I said to Abby. I just wanted to shut her up and have her go away." He had the good grace to look sheepish.<br>Jess's face fell. "You didn't mean any of it?" she asked softly.  
>He thought for a moment. "I didn't mean the second bit of what I said, the bit about you being a child," he qualified. "I don't think you're a child," he voice became husky and she shuddered in response.<br>"And the first part?" she whispered.  
>He lowered his head until his lips were against her ear.<br>"No, I meant that bit. I very much meant that bit," he breathing was ragged.  
>She reached up to hold his face and move his head so they were staring into each other's eyes.<br>"I love you too," she said quietly.

His eyes dropped to her mouth and then quickly back to her eyes again. He swallowed audibly as she nodded her encouragement. Then he dropped his head the final few centimetres, capturing her lips with his own. She murmured with delight under his mouth, twisting her arms around his neck, her fingers playing with his hair at the nape of his neck. He growled in response, deepening the kiss and pulling her as close to him as he possibly could.  
>He pulled away suddenly, his face irritated. Jess looked up at him, worried she had done something wrong.<br>"Damn vest!" he exclaimed, ripping at the Velcro and throwing the offending article across the concrete floor. He looked down at her. "That one's got to go too!"  
>He pulled the vest from her small frame and crushed her body against his again.<br>"Much better," he mumbled against her mouth as he kissed her deeply and felt her mould her body against his. Being childish was fun, but this was way, way better.  
>Lt. Michaels grinned as he watched his boss finally let go of his reserve and give in to the feelings he had been harbouring for the last two years. He tapped the Comms in his ear.<br>"Miss Maitland, this is Lieutenant Michaels. I hope you can hear me. Mission accomplished."  
>His grin widened as he heard Abby whoop and Connor shout "Hi Five!" over the open Comms…<strong><strong>

**THE END**

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><p><strong>That's it - hope you enjoyed it. Please review to let me know how I did :-)<strong>


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